Golden Memories, Endless Possibilities
by JrRangerScout
Summary: What has been, what could have been, and what could yet be: A varied collection of one-shots about life in the wondrous world of Zootopia.


**Greetings, fellow Zootopians! This is a collection of short (and perhaps occasionally less short) pieces about life in Zootopia. It is my playground, if you will, where I play with various ideas, scenarios, and connections related to the wonderful movie we all know and love. As such, most of the pieces are in no way connected. Some may be sweet, others bitter. They may focus on our protagonists, on other characters, on OCs, or on no particular character in general. They are all united by the fact that they explore the rich world with which we have been provided. This is my first fanfiction, although I am working on others, and I hope that you enjoy it and continue to enjoy it as it hopefully expands in the future.**

 **~JrRangerScout**

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The fire snapped and crackled merrily in the fireplace, throwing bright cascades of sparks up the chimney and illuminating the room. Dancing shadows, cast by the many stockings hanging from the mantle, flickered against the walls of the mostly dark room. In the corner stood a giant Christmas tree, easily 12 feet tall. Hanging from the branches of the great blue spruce were innumerable hand-painted ornaments, candy canes, and strands of Christmas lights. Beneath it was a great pile of presents wrapped in cheery holiday paper, tied with bows and ribbon. The house smelled of pine and cinnamon and fresh-baked gingerbread. In the background, piano music from the radio played quietly, casting a feeling of peace and serenity over the scene. On a whole, the room was quiet and still and warm, a refuge from the winter winds that howled outside, drifting banks of glistening snow up against the windows.

From over the banister of the stairs, a tiny bunny nose appeared, twitching as it sniffed the air curiously. Then, the rest of the bunny's head came into view, surveying the room below with wide amethyst eyes.

"Judy!" her sister whispered timidly, "we're not allowed down here yet!"

Turning from her reconnaissance of the living room, Judy shushed her. "Shush, Annie! Mom and Dad said we weren't allowed to come down to look at our presents, not that we couldn't come down to look at the Christmas tree."

Annie pulled herself up onto bannister next to Judy. "Then why are you shushing me? You're gonna get in trouble, Judy."

"'Cause I don't wanna wake up Mom and Dad, obviously!" Judy shook her head impatiently. "If you don't want to come, you don't have too."

Annie looked towards their parents' bedroom door, ears folded back nervously. "Well, I can't sleep anymore. But if we get in trouble, it's your fault."

Judy had already started tip-pawing down the stairs. She shushed her sister again, and then they both crept down the stairs together. Suddenly, as Judy took a step, a loud creak echoed through the house. Judy and Annie both started at the noise, and they looked around to see if anyone had heard. After a few more seconds waiting, they finally mustered up the courage to quickly sneak down the remaining steps.

Once they had reached the bottom, they lay down on the carpet between the fireplace and the Christmas tree. There was just something magical about lying in the glow of Christmas lights, early in the morning, when it was dark and quiet. No matter how many times she saw it, Judy never got tired of looking at the strands lights strung on the Christmas tree, reflecting in the glass of the ornaments.

"Isn't it so pretty?" she asked Annie.

Annie nodded wordlessly, gazing at the tree. Then, she giggled. "This is fun!" she whispered.

Judy giggled too. "I told you it would be fun!" Then, she got up and went over to the fireplace. "Look, Santa filled up our stockings!"

Annie got up and tried to get hers down, but she was just a tiny bit too short. "Judy, I want to see what's in mine!"

Judy wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at her sister. "I thought you weren't going to look at your presents, Annie."

Annie returned the gesture. "These aren't the presents, these are our stockings."

Judy carefully got down both of the stockings and handed Annie hers.

Annie opened her stocking and peered in. "Ooh! I got chocolate carrots in mine! What did you get?"

"I got chocolate carrots too." She reached inside and moved some of the carrots out of the way, and let out a small gasp. "And a police badge!" Practically jumping with excitement, she pinned it onto her nightgown.

"Shh, Judy! You're going to wake up Mommy and Daddy!" Annie said nervously.

Judy tapped her shiny new police badge proudly. "They can't arrest me, now, I'm a police officer! I have…" she paused, trying to think of the right term. "Dimplatic immunity!"

Annie was not very impressed. "They won't arrest you, just make you stand in the corner, I bet."

"Hmph! Bet not." Taking her stocking, Judy plopped down in front of the Christmas tree again. Absentmindedly, she pulled one of the chocolate carrots out of her stocking and started unwrapping the gold foil that covered it. Annie pulled her stocking over and sat down next to her. For a few minutes they just sat together, eating chocolate carrots and gazing at the Christmas tree.

Eventually, Judy's eyes were drawn to the pile of presents below the tree. A truly immense pile, for all of the 254 rabbits belonging to the Hopps family had at least one gift. There were tiny presents, no bigger than Judy's paw, all the way up to one huge present three times as tall as Judy (which she was fairly sure was a bookcase for her Mom), and presents of every size and shape in between. Every package had a little tag on it, with the name of the recipient written on it. Judy walked over and scrutinized the pile, hoping that she could see one with her name on it.

"Judy…" Annie warned, "You're not supposed to look at the presents yet! Mommy said!"

"No, she didn't," Judy reasoned, " she said we couldn't come down to look at the presents. We didn't come down to look at the presents, we came down to look at the tree. But the presents are right here, and I want to see if I can find mine." Even Judy knew this was probably pushing it a little bit, but she really did want to see the presents. Still, she was very careful not to touch any of them. For some reason, that seemed too much like cheating.

After a few minutes of unsuccessful searching, Judy went back over to Annie, who had lain down and was using her stocking as a pillow.

"Are you going to sleep, Judy?" Annie asked drowsily.

"Nope. Not tired," Judy replied. Then, she let out a colossal yawn. "Okay, maybe a little." She pulled her stocking over and laid it down next to Annie's.

She intended just to lay down and look at the tree, but before long she found her eyes drifting closed. The quiet music, the warmth emanating from the fireplace, the dimly lit room, all combined to lull her to sleep. Drowsily, she looked down at her new police badge and rubbed it proudly. "I'm gonna help everyone have Christmas like this," she murmured sleepily.

Just before she drifted off, she heard Annie shift next to her. "G'night, Judy. I love you."

Judy reached over and put her arm around her sister. "I love you too, Annie."

The fireplace had died down to glowing red embers, and it no longer sparked and popped. Piano music played quietly in the background. The house smelled of cinnamon, pine, and fresh baked gingerbread. In front of the Christmas tree, dimly lit by the twinkling Christmas lights, two small bunnies were curled up together, wrapped in the peace of love, and the assurance of good things to come.


End file.
